The UH Mānoa College of Education announced that the Dai Ho Chun Endowed Chair in Education will be held by Kathryn Au, professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies.

In June 2001, the college received a $1 million gift from the Dai Ho Chun Estate to establish an endowed chair position in Educational Leadership in honor of Dr. Dai Ho Chun. Chun was a public school teacher, UH Mānoa College of Education faculty member, and director of the International Cooperative Center, the forerunner of the East-West Center. Au‘s work in research, teaching and leadership exemplifies the qualities sought of the Dai Ho Chun Chair.

During her appointment, Au plans to support the Language Arts Standards Network (LASN), which is a partnership that involves the University of Hawaiʻi, the Department of Education (DOE), the Kamehameha Schools K-3 Reading Program, UH Mānoa College of Education, UH Hilo Education Department, and literacy professional organizations. She also hopes to assist to improve the quality of literacy instruction, assessment, and achievement in the public schools, and to offer networking structures and professional development opportunities for Hawaiʻi educators who wish to focus their schools‘ efforts on literacy achievement.

"The chair endowment makes it possible for the college to provide resources to a world class scholar to address education issues in Hawaiʻi," College of Education Dean Randy Hitz said. "I am particularly pleased that our first Dai Ho Chun Chair will focus on beginning reading instruction, a topic of central importance to Hawaiʻi."

Au received her bachelor‘s degree from Brown University, a professional diploma in elementary education and a master‘s degree in psychology from UH Mānoa, and a doctorate degree in educational psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

She is an American Educational Research Association (AERA) distinguished scholar, and a recipient of the National Scholar Award of the National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education and the National Reading Conference Oscar S. Causey Award for distinguished reading research. Au is also a member of the Reading Hall of Fame, and has written extensively in the areas of literacy and teacher education.